She’s the kind of woman your husband would want because of her “good hair” - which we can infer to be straighter, with a sleeker texture, not the tight curls our culture has stigmatized. This unfortunate racial bias means we know instinctively who Beyoncé is talking about, even if a literal Becky doesn’t exist. #Becky vs karen skin#Pop culture has long venerated the Becky’s most common features - blonde hair, blue eyes, white skin - while diminishing all others, which has long made the Becky the standard by which all others must be judged. Gretchen: “Oh my god, Karen, you can’t just ask people why they’re white.” - Mean Girls Karen: “So if you’re from Africa, why are you white?” Over the years, she has come to be defined as a ditzy, ignorant white girl. There’s a reason it’s called conventional beauty: the Becky represents the patriarchal, Eurocentric ideal of attractiveness. But do we allow the Becky in real life the same opportunity for redemption? Here’s our take on the Becky as privilege personified, the damage she causes both willfully and unintentionally, and whether there could be more to Becky if we’d just give her a chance.īecky might be basic - but being the “default” just makes her more desirable. We often see fictional Beckys undergoing genuine growth - becoming less naive and more considerate toward others after they become aware of their own privilege. A Becky’s form of ignorance may be less malicious than a Karen’s - but she can be just as frustrating and harmful.īut unlike Karen, Becky still has the potential to improve. This makes her unaware of other people’s needs or suffering. People go out of their way to accommodate her, allowing her to avoid any brushes with disappointment or rejection.Ĭerie: “Did he just talk to me like I’m ugly?” - 30 Rock, 2x5 Her interests are mainstream and ordinary, which helps her “fit in” - but also makes her seem shallow. Unlike the Karen, Becky is in her prime - she can easily use her sexuality to get what she wants.īecky is also notoriously basic. She’s a young white woman who’s defined by being desirable. And by exploring the qualities we see in Beckys depicted on screen, we can get a better idea of the part she plays in our world. The Becky is someone our culture both reveres and looks down upon for her appearance, her privileges, and her willfully naive behavior. Who is Becky? From the moment Beyoncé called her out on her 2016 album Lemonade, Becky instantly became the subject of memes, think-pieces, and Twitter mobs, all of them trying to discern the identity of this girl with the good hair.īut as it turns out, Becky is all around us: For centuries, the Becky has been a convenient archetype of a kind of white femininity, someone who may or may not have good hair, but who is largely identified by her obliviousness. Here’s our Take on the Becky as privilege personified, the damage she causes-both willfully and unintentionally-and whether there could be more to Becky if we’d just give her a chance.īeyoncé: “He better call Becky with the good hair.” - “Sorry” For centuries, the Becky has been a convenient archetype of a kind of white femininity, someone who may or may not have good hair, but who is largely identified by her obliviousness. Who is Becky? From the moment Beyoncé called her out on her 2016 album Lemonade, Becky instantly became the subject of memes, think-pieces, and Twitter mobs, all of them trying to discern the identity of “Becky with the good hair.” But as it turns out, Becky is all around us.
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